The flip side of all that “15 players left for the NFL” talk:
We tend to forget how many young pups got snaps this season. Understandable, given the level of success, but still… what does that say about next season?
Daily Archives: December 23, 2022
“Profile of a winning playoff team”
This is a really good overview from Ian Boyd.
College football conferences are pretty regional and the winners of different conferences tend to win by marshaling resources to build teams who stand out over their regional peers with their athletes at the space force positions (left tackle, deep threat receiver, island cornerback, Edge rusher) and perhaps more consistently their superior size and cohesion in the trenches.
In the trenches in particular, the blue blood programs of college football tend to be able to stand out. It takes some serious scratch to field a team with NFL-caliber athletes across the offensive and defensive lines. Big kids who are athletic AND 250+ pounds are rare and thus a precious commodity. To assemble the numbers of them needed to truly dominate the trenches is very difficult and smaller programs rarely even try.
Blue blood strategy tends to revolve around maximizing that advantage. IE, power run game or D-line driven defensive strategy. Georgia is a great example of this, they play a style of defense designed to defer stress to their front while keeping their secondary back and their offense is built around double-tight end sets and inside zone runs…
And herein lies the rub:
So what happens when the heavyweights meet in the playoffs? After a month of preparation and scouting for each other? It’s harder to win with what brought you there.
This is exactly what I wonder about with Ohio State.
Ian sees two paths to a natty.
A great, pro-style passing game can win the championship. Otherwise, you have to be better at a more traditional formula than everyone else, which generally means mastering the traditional triumvirate of…
Defense
Power run game
Deep threat passing
Sure would be nice to have a functional AD Mitchell in a couple of Saturdays.
Anyway, read the whole thing.
Filed under BCS/Playoffs, Strategery And Mechanics
New kicker in town
In case you’re wondering what kind of leg Georgia signed in this year’s class, here’s something.
I’m not sure if that was off a tee or not, but even if it was, that’s still pretty impressive.
Filed under Georgia Football, Recruiting
Friday morning buffet, film study edition
Just thought it might be easier to put the latest stuff I’ve seen together in one post.
- The Athletic wants to know “How can the Buckeyes stop Georgia’s tight ends?” ($$).
- This post at Eleven Warriors takes a shot at predicting what Ohio State’s game plan might look like.
- Land-Grant Holy Land sees similarities between the Georgia and OSU running games.
- Film Don’t Lie on what Georgia’s defense might do against the Buckeyes.
- Film Don’t Lie on how Ohio State will try to slow down Georgia’s offense.
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UPDATE: Be careful what you wish for, Ohio State offensive linemen.
Filed under Big Ten Football, Georgia Football, Strategery And Mechanics
Age ain’t nothin’ but a number.
Whiny ass college football fans: Stetson Bennett’s 25, so of course he’s excelling playing teenagers!
Austin Aune: Hold my beer, fools.
Filed under College Football
Get The Picture 